Constantine Maroulis Takes the Two Faces of Jekyll and Hyde on the Road

By Sheryl Flatow
21 Sep 2012

Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox

Photo by Smallz & Raskind

Tony nominee Constantine Maroulis found himself drawing on personal experience to approach the dual role in the revised revival of the Broadway-bound musical thriller Jekyll and Hyde.

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For Constantine Maroulis, this could very well be the moment.

Maroulis, who shot to fame on "American Idol" and received a 2009 Tony Award nomination for his work in Rock of Ages, is portraying the title roles in the reconceived, Broadway-bound production of the musical Jekyll & Hyde.

And though this is his first time carrying a show, the supremely confident Maroulis is neither daunted by the responsibility or by the challenge of playing dual roles.

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"I try not to think of one part as more difficult than the next," he said at the start of rehearsals late in the summer. "I know this is going to be a big role, or roles. But I feel you should approach every role with the passion and desire to find everything you need to find as an actor and artist. That's how I approached Rock of Ages, and that's how I'd approach Hamlet, which I'd love to do one day. I go about everything the same way."

Jekyll & Hyde, by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse, previews in La Mirada, CA, in September before kicking off its 25-week national tour in San Diego on Oct. 2. It's set to arrive on Broadway next spring. The musical co-stars Deborah Cox and is directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun. The original production opened on Broadway in 1997 and was critically disparaged, but developed a huge following and had a solid run of 1,543 performances.

The show has since become an international phenomenon, with more than 35 productions worldwide. This latest version features a revised script, a slightly different song list, new orchestrations and a new physical production.

"Any time you have a title with such history and recognition, it's important to take a fresh look at it," says Maroulis. "I'm a huge fan of Frank's music, but oddly enough I've never seen Jekyll & Hyde. Neither has Jeff. And I think that's a nice place to start. Because I've never seen anyone do the part before, and because we're taking such a fresh look at the material, I feel like I'm creating a new role. We feel we have a really lean and mean script. The cast is amazing, and Jeff is a very meticulous, detail-oriented director. Our approach is very grounded and very real, not over the top."